Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reduce inappropriate non-steroidal anti-inflammatory prescribing in primary care patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Once diagnosed, CKD management involves delaying progression to end stage renal failure and preventing complications. It is well established that non-steroidal anti-inflammatories have a negative effect on kidney function and consequently, all nephrology consensus groups suggest avoiding this drug class in CKD. Design/methodology/approach The sampling criteria included all practice patients with a known CKD risk factor...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of anti-activated factor X (anti-Xa) in patients with different degrees of chronic renal failure (CRF), treated with therapeutic doses of low molecular weight heparin. DESIGN: This prospective study evaluated the effect of age, renal function, BMI, gender, in determining the efficacy and safety of treatment with enoxaparin, evaluated by assessing the anti-Xa. The therapeutic anticoagulant range was set between 0...

BACKGROUND: Heart transplantation (HTx) is the preferred treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure and has been successful for >30 y. The clinical course of recipients at the extreme of age is unknown. We reviewed our experience to determine the overall health and prevalence of Tx-related medical problems for recipients in their ninth decade. METHODS: We reviewed the UCTP experience from 1985 to present to identify patients who survived into their 80s and matched (1:1) with other recipients for gender and age at HTx, but did not survive to ≥80 y...

OBJECTIVES: To describe trends in ages and causes of death in a remote-living Australian Aboriginal group over a recent 50-year period. DESIGN: A retrospective observational study, from 1960 to 2010, of deaths and people starting dialysis, using data from local clinic, parish, dialysis and birthweight registers. SETTING: A remote island community in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory, where a Catholic mission was established in 1911...

OBJECTIVES: Coronary angiography is regularly performed in patients with worsening signs and/or symptoms of heart failure (HF). However, little is known on the determinants, findings and associated clinical outcomes of coronary angiography performed in patients with worsening HF. METHODS: The BIOSTAT-CHF (a systems BIOlogy Study to TAilored Treatment in Chronic Heart Failure) programme enrolled 2516 patients with worsening symptoms and/or signs of HF, either hospitalised or in the outpatient setting...

BACKGROUND: Proenkephalin (pro-ENK), a stable and reliable surrogate marker for unstable enkephalins, was found to be associated with acute kidney injury and chronic renal failure in previous studies. We aimed to investigate whether pro-ENK is linked to chronic kidney injury and poor long-term outcome in renal transplant recipients (RTR). METHODS: We included 664 stable RTR and 95 healthy kidney donors. Pro-ENK was measured in plasma with a double monoclonal sandwich immunoassay...

INTRODUCTION: Hyperuricemia is common in approximately 50% of patients with kidney failure due to decreased uric acid excretion, and it has been recently known as an independent factor in the progression of renal insufficiency. Allopurinol inhibits the production of uric acid. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of allopurinol on chronic kidney disease progression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a clinical trial, patients with stages 3 and 4 of chronic kidney disease were divided into two groups to receive allopurinol, 100 mg, daily and placebo for 12 months...

INTRODUCTION: Liver gas gangrene is a rare condition with a highly mortality rate. It is mostly associated with host factors, such as malignancy and immunosuppression. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 57-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with abnormalities of her serum hepato-biliary enzymes. She had a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cerebral infarction, and chronic renal failure. She was diagnosed with bile duct cancer of the liver hilum and a left hepatectomy was carried out, with extrahepatic bile duct resection...

The focus of this edition of Clinical Pharmacolgoy & Therapeutics (CPT) is on drugs and renal function and will not include a detailed discussion of kidney disease and its treatment. It is well recognized that drugs affect the kidneys in different ways, while kidney disease impacts drug metabolism and response. It is impossible to underestimate the value of the kidneys to man in health and disease, from regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance to participating in drug metabolism and transport. Additionally, the kidneys serve as targets for drugs used to treat cardiovascular (CV) diseases including hypertension and heart failure, metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and obesity, chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as playing a role in the regulation of several hormones...

Epigenetics is defined as the heritable changes in gene expression patterns which are not directly encoded by modifications in the nucleotide DNA sequence of the genome, including higher order chromatin organization, DNA methylation, cytosine modifications, covalent histone tail modifications, and short non-coding RNA molecules. Recently, much attention has been paid to the role and the function of epigenetics and epimutations in the cellular and subcellular pathways and in the regulation of genes in the setting of both kidney and cardiovascular disease...

Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease that can involve virtually every organ system, but most commonly presents as lung, skin, or lymph node disease. Although kidney involvement is usually clinically silent, granulomatous interstitial nephritis - the hallmark of renal sarcoidosis - can lead to functional impairment and organ failure. Also, recent studies have suggested an association between sarcoidosis and an increased risk of developing kidney tumors. While a sarcoid-like granulomatous reaction (SLGR) to renal epithelial neoplasms in patients without sarcoidosis has been well documented, direct involvement of the tumor parenchyma by sarcoidosis has been reported only rarely...

Neurological manifestations related to electrolyte disorders, drug toxicity, and uremia are common in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Seizures and coma are frequent complications of acute renal insufficiency (uremia), whereas peripheral neuropathy and encephalopathy, observed in progressive uremia, are terminal events. Failure to excrete metabolic products causes their accumulation and can lead to severe intoxication. Clinically, the signs and symptoms of uremia can vary widely, depending on the biological characteristics of the patient, the specific type of renal disease, and the time of the uremic intoxication...